John Harris

They joined for their country. They fought for each other.When war breaks out in 1914, Mark Fenner and his Sheffield friends immediately flock to Kitchener's call. Amid waving flags and boozy celebration, the three men - Fen, his best friend Locky and self-assured Frank, rival for the woman Fen loves - enlist as volunteers to take on the Germans and win glory.Through ramshackle training in sodden England and a stint in arid Egypt, rebellious but brave Fen proves himself to be a natural leader, only undermined by on-going friction with Frank. Headed by terse, tough Sergeant Major Bold, this group of young men form steel-strong bonds, and yearn to face the great adventure of the Western Front.Then, on one summer's day in 1916, Fen and his band of brothers are sent to the Somme, and this very ordinary hero discovers what it means to fight for your life.Stirringly told from the down-to-earth view of everyday soldiers, Covenant with Death is acclaimed as one of the greatest novels about war ever written.

How the miracle on the beaches saved a nation. A gripping account of one of the most famous episodes of the Second World WarIn May 1940 British and Allied troops on mainland Europe were in a perilous situation: cut off and surrounded, at the conclusion of the bloody Battle of France they faced complete annihilation. It would be a devastating blow, handing Europe to the Nazis.But over a few frantic days, the greatest evacuation in history managed to salvage hope, saving the total destruction of the army and hundreds of thousands of soldiers lives. It was a pivotal and defining moment in the war, one Churchill described as a 'miracle' in his 'we shall fight them on the beaches' speech.Bestselling author John Harris describes in vivid detail how the evacuation developed on a day-by-day basis, and destroys more than one myth associated with Dunkirk. Packed with authentic atmosphere and first-hand recollections, the retreat and the desperate lifting of the weary British expeditionary force is seen in its tragic but spirited entirety, an epic of courage and confusion without parallel.

John Harris first came to the attention of American readers with The Undaunted, the deliberately understated story of an Air-Sea rescue operation in World War II. Published in (the USA) in 1953, it received the same warm praise that greeted its publication in England under the title The Sea Shall Not Have Them.

Lieutenant-Colonel George Hockold must destroy Rommel's vast fuel reserves stored at the port of Qaba if the Eighth Army is to succeed in the Alamein offensive. Time is desperately running out, resources are scant and the commando unit Hockold must lead is a rag tag band of misfits scraped from the dregs of the British Army. They must attack Qaba. The orders? Take or destroy.

If it hadn't been for the shopkeeper in Heraklion, Cotton might never have been involved ...In the spring of 1941 the Nazis were storming their way through Greece. The Loukia was crucial to the British cause and the Greek resistance - and her cargo even more so. When the Loukia is wrecked in enemy territory, the British gathered together a handful of volunteers for a dangerous misson of retrieval: two RASC men, some sailors, one German-speaking airman and Mihale Andoni Cotonou - otherwise known as Corporal Cotton of the Marines.

A brilliant German agent lies in wait for the allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France. While the allies prepare a vast armed camp, no one is aware of the enemy within, and when a sudden, deadly E-boat attacks, the Fox strikes, stealing secret invasion plans in the ensuing panic. What follows is a deadly pursuit as the Fox tries to get the plans to Germany in time, hotly pursued by two officers with orders to stop him at all costs.

The Allies, faced with a shameful defeat, are trapped between the onslaught of the mighty German army and the tumult of the ocean waves. Those that do not die face capture and surrender to the Nazis. But only nine days later more than a quarter of a million men have been rescued and placed safely on the shores of England, saved by an amazing assorted flotilla of barges, tugs, rowing boats and dinghies. This is the incredible story of a mass exodus across the Channel. John Harris tells the miraculous story of Dunkirk.

A story of an Italian-Australian family down on their luck, who embark on a daring sea voyage to escape having their only asset taken from them--their boat. They need an extra hand, and take on stranger, a young man with an uncertain past, who turns out to be fleeing the police. The challenges they face bond them together and change each of them forever. A beautifully told tale.

Up for Grabs is the tale of the Desert Ratbags, a concert group stranded behind enemy lines and using unique skills from petty theft to light entertainment in order to survive. The Ratbags outrageously involve themselves in looting, from captured weapons and vehicles to enemy uniforms, and get caught up in some real action in the process!

It is the winter of 1944. France is under the iron fist of the Nazis. But liberation is just around the corner and a crew from a Lancaster bomber is part of the fight for Freedom. As they fly towards their European target, a Messerschmitt blazes through the sky in a fiery attack and of the nine-man crew aboard the bomber, only two men survive to parachute into Occupied France. They join an ever-growing army of shadows (the men and women of the French Resistance), to play a lethal game of cat and mouse.

It is 1944 and Monte Cassino has become a Nazi stronghold against the Allied advance through Italy. But Cassino must be taken, and the flamboyantly ambitious Brigadier Heathfield has a plan. This is a gripping, intoxicating story about the men of the North Yorkshires, veterans of Africa, hardened to the world.

An excellent narrative on the conduct of the battle, the charge of the Light brigade, and the personalities involved. The story is not just about the commanders, but also about the men who took part in the famous charge, and we see them not as drink-sodden, brutalized soldiers, but as intelligent, able, courageous men led by officers who were far from unpopular fools.

¿Un héroe militar? ¿O un traidor a sus camaradas y a su país? Un apasionante thriller lleno de suspense e intriga, del maestro autor Max Hennessy. Cuando, en 1939, una carta arrojó dudas sobre la reputación militar de un hombre que probablemente se convertiría en Comandante en Jefe de la Fuerza Expedicionaria Británica si se declaraba la guerra con Alemania, no tuvo otra alternativa que llevar el asunto a los tribunales. El caso llevó al juez, al jurado y a un público fascinado a un día del invierno de 1919 cuando las tropas británicas, en acción contra las fuerzas bolcheviques en el sur de Rusia, realizaron la última carga de la caballería británica. Una brillante historia de engaños, conflictos y los últimos días del poder de la caballería británica.

Ira Penaluna, First World War pilot, sees his airline go bankrupt in Africa and grabs at the chance to instruct pilots in China. But Ira hasn’t reckoned on the beat-up, burnt-out wrecks he is expected to teach his students in, or on the fact that his pupils speak no English. Though aided and abetted by an enthusiastic assistant, an irresponsible Fagan and his brooding American girlfriend Ellie, Ira finds himself playing a deadly game, becoming embroiled in China’s civil war. The four are forced to flee but the only way out is in a struggling pile of junk flown precariously towards safety. Will they make it?

In this action-packed adventure, Willie Sarth becomes a survivor. Forced to fight pirates on the East China Seas, wrestle for his life on the South China Seas and cross the Sea of Japan ravaged by typhus, Sarth is determined to come out alive. Dealing with human tragedy, war and revolution, Harris presents a novel, which packs an awesome punch.

An explosive action-packed war drama: four British soldiers are cut off behind enemy lines in British Somaliland and when they decide to utilise a secret arms dump in the Bur Yi hills and fight a rearguard action, an unlikely alliance is sought between two local warring tribes. What follows is an amazing mission led by the brilliant, elusive Harkaway, whose heart is stolen by a missionary when she becomes mixed up in the unorthodox band of warriors.

At the heart of this story of courage and might, is Major Billy Pentecost, commander of a remote desert outpost near Hahdhdhah, deep among the bleak hills of Khalit. His orders are to prepare to move out along with a handful of British soldiers. Impatient tribesmen gather outside the fort, eager to reclaim the land of their blood and commanded by Abd el Aziz el Beidawi, a feared Arab warrior lord. A friendship forms between the two very different commanders but when Pentecost’s orders are reversed, a nightmarish tragedy ensues.

Britain’s Indian Army mutinied in 1857, leading to the first great crisis of the British Empire. A brutal campaign of sieges, massacres and forced marches, it has become a great military legend, as described in this heavily illustrated work.

Ginger Donnelly is on the trail of Nazi saboteurs in Sierra Leone. While taking a midnight paddle with a willing woman in a canoe cajoled from a local fisherman, Donnelly sees an enormous seaplane thunder across the sky only to crash in a ball of brilliant flame. It seems like an accident—at least until a second plane explodes in a blistering shower along the same flight path.

Thirty Days War

Live Free or Die! Harris, John

It is 1939. The Royal Navy urgently needs information about German raiders. There is only one place to get it—the port of Narvik—and only one man capable—Magnusson. A story of the daring, outrageous exploits of a spy rescuing British prisoners from the Altmark and swept up into the German battle for Norway.

Charting the disastrous expedition of Commander Adams, this novel follows the misfortunes of his men across the Arctic. Whatever can go wrong does go wrong as transport, instruments, health and sanity begin to fail. The team seem irretrievably lost in the dark Arctic winter, frightened and half-starving even when they find a base. Only one man can rescue them, the truculent Tom Fife who must respond to the faint radio signals coming from the Arctic shores. A powerful and disturbing novel, this story takes your breath away.

With Europe on the brink of the First World War, Pierce Slattery, a renegade cavalry officer with the British Army, brings an astonishing insight and masterful fighting abilities to the aid of a revolution, led by Pancho Villa. Their army of ill-trained, poorly prepared peasants are fighting for their lives and their freedom – but British Intelligence has an interest in the Mexican Revolution and in the striking Slattery.

Martin Falconer had one big anxiety: would they let him fly again?Grounded in England at the beginning of 1918, it was a struggle, for escaped prisoners of war weren’t generally allowed to return to the front, but Martin pestered the authorities and, at last, found himself back in France.

Book by Harris, John

Harris’s exciting adventure is set against the backdrop of the Western Desert and scenes of the Eighth Army battles. The men who fought together in the Second World War return twenty years later in search of treasure. But twenty years can change a man. Young ideals have been replaced by greed. Comradeship has vanished along with innocence. And treachery and murder make for a breathtaking read.

In Sierra Leone, a remote bush community crackles with racial tensions. Few white people live amongst the natives of Freetown and authority seems distant. Everyday life in Freetown revolves around an opencast iron mine, and the man in charge dictates peace and prosperity for everyone. But for the white population, his leadership is a matter of life or death where every decision is like being snatched by the claws of mercy.

The sleepy red-roofed Italian island of Anapoli, its lazy, leaning buildings pushed against the jagged harbour, dreams on peaceably by the sea. It is here that Tom Patch, an easy-going British artist, finds himself, discarding his mistress and in love with Cecilia. Even the Mayor of Anapoli basks in the sun, listening to goat bells and the rasp of mandolins. But above the unsuspecting residents hangs a malevolent volcano; a terrible destructive power seething below its crust. And the volcano is about to blow.